15th Expert Working Group (EWG) Meeting
Skopje, Macedonia - The 15th meeting of the PCC SEE statutory body - the Expert Working Group (EWG) - took place on 8 and 9 October 2015 in Skopje, under the auspices of the current Macedonian PCC SEE Chairmanship-in-Office and with support from the PCC SEE Secretariat. The two-day meeting brought together nationally appointed members from the PCC SEE Contracting Parties and representatives from Cepol, Europol, Frontex, Germany, Switzerland, DCAF, IOM, OSCE, MARRI, RCC and UNODC.
Among other issues, the meeting provided an opportunity for both the PCC SEE Contracting Parties and the observers to share their efforts and activities related to containing the mixed migration pressure and threats stemming thereof. The EWG members also reiterated the relevance of monitoring and evaluation in the PCC SEE implementation process and welcomed visits of the PCC SEE Secretariat to the Western Balkan countries, where in-depth interviews are planned to be conducted with all relevant key players on the national level. The EU Member States agreed to provide their answers to the questionnaires in written form, in order to have a more comprehensive state of play in the PCC SEE implementation process.
The national members further agreed on the topics for the ministerial discussion at the upcoming meeting of the Committee of Ministers, to be convened on 19 November in Sofia. The first topic will be devoted to sharing ideas and experiences on the use of the PCC SEE as a legal basis for addressing threats stemming from the increased mixed migration flow, and the second topic will be devoted to the strategic and practical orientation of the PCC SEE implementation process and future financial support beyond 2016.